Meddling Matchmaker
by randomklainer
Summary: Sam has a crush on Blaine, and Ryder decides to help out and get them together.


**Baileysue asked for Sam asking Ryder to help him get together with Blaine. And suggested that bullying could tie in there somewhere. Not sure that Sam actually asked for Ryder's help in this, but . . .**

**Heads up: Ryder and Jake are dating, Sam is a lot more oblivious, and this is just really weird. But I'm sure you could work all those things out for yourself.**

Ryder stares blankly at his locker, trying to work out what he needs. It's hard, keeping track of what classes he has without Jake here to tell him. Ryder misses him, even though they saw each other yesterday. He hopes that Jake will be back at school tomorrow.

Suddenly, he's aware of an ominous presence behind him. His locker door slams shut; he pulls his fingers out just in time. He glances to his right to see another jock standing there. He turns slowly to see a small huddle of them. They're all holding slushies.

'Oh, poor baby,' Phil sneers at him as he hunches into his jacket. 'What are you gonna do without your little boyfriend here to protect you?'

'You know, it's almost enough to make me feel bad about doing this,' Bobby adds. His words are emphasised with the cold sting of cherry slushie. 'Almost.'

One by one, the other slushies hit Ryder. The cold drips down his face, the pain burning. The stickiness has sealed his eyelashes together, but his eyes are already irritated anyway. The sharpness and the numbness are both too much.

They continue to stand around him, yelling slurs and insults. He feels a hand push roughly against his chest, and then a metallic clang against his back, the hard force reverberating through his body. He feels himself begin to slip down the locker, towards the floor. He doesn't have the strength to catch himself.

There's the gentle pressure of an arm around his waist, pulling him back up, righting him. The way the fingers curl around his side is reassuring, feels like Jake's hand when he's wrapping him up tight. But this isn't Jake, it can't be; Jake's home sick today.

The arm is leading him away now, tugging and forcing his legs to follow. The jocks yell after them, 'Does your boyfriend know that you're cheating on him with Evans?'

Sam's hand twitches against Ryder's side, as if he wants to pull it away. He doesn't though. He just keeps leading him on, until Ryder hears the squeak of the bathroom door, and then feels the gentle firmness of a wall against his back.

There's a tap running, and then Sam's dabbing gently at his eyes as he speaks. 'Jake's not gonna get pissed is he?'

Ryder thinks about it, knowing he's referring to the jocks' taunt. He thinks about how he would react, if Jake was in his position now. There's a slight stab of jealousy, but mostly he's just relieved that someone was there for him, that Jake wasn't left on his own. 'I don't think he'll murder you,' Ryder answers eventually.

'I'm glad.' Sam doesn't speak again until Ryder's blinking his eyes open. 'I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner.'

Ryder tries to smile in response. 'It's ok. It's not your fault.'

Sam uses a gentle pressure on his shoulder to lead him over to the hand basins. 'I don't know how you deal with this. I don't think I'll ever be ready to.' He tilts Ryder's head back under the warm water of the tap.

'Why would you have to?' He tries to look up at Sam but he gets splashed in the eye.

'I'm – I – I'm bi. And they'd obviously do the same thing to me if they ever found out.'

Ryder grips at his wrist. 'You don't have to come out though. I only did because we couldn't hide our relationship.'

'But what if I start dating B– a guy? What if I start dating a guy?'

'Any particular guy?' When Sam just looks away, Ryder stands up to face him, softens his voice. 'It's ok, Sam. You can tell me.'

'Blaine.' It comes out in a huff of breath.

Ryder has to resist the urge to squee. 'You two would make the perfect couple.'

'Yea, right. I bet he doesn't even like me.'

'You're joking, right? The guy's crazy about you.' Sam doesn't seem convinced. 'Please tell me you'll ask him out.'

'I just, I can't risk it.' Ryder can see he's looking for a way to change the subject. 'Now, c'mon, you need to get changed.'

Ryder grabs his bag, and heads into a cubicle. His mind's running a mile a minute; he's trying to come up with a plan. 'Sam?' He grunts in response. 'What if I asked him out for you? We could double date.'

'I would feel like a grade-schooler.'

'I could tell him that it was a blind date? Pretend to set him up with someone from Jake's dance class?'

Sam's voice sounds muffled through the cubicle door. 'That sounds like a terrible idea.'

'Do you have a better one?' Ryder counteracts. Sam's groan is all the response that he needs.

When he reopens the door, Sam is standing right there. 'I still can't come out though,' he says immediately. 'You haven't solved that one yet.'

Ryder thinks for a moment, checking in the mirror for any coloured stains. 'You graduate in a couple of months. Blaine might be ok with keeping it on the down low for a while.'

'And after that?'

'Well, I'm assuming you'll be out of this hellhole. So it might be a bit easier to come out.'

Sam's looking confused. 'Can't I just wait till then?'

'You don't know yet if you'll be in the same city. You don't want to miss your chance.' Ryder walks out into the hallway then, not giving Sam a chance to argue further.

Xxx

After glee, Ryder corners Blaine, relieved that he takes so long to leave. 'What are you up to this Friday?'

Blaine looks momentarily surprised. 'Not much. Why?'

'There's a guy in Jake's dance class that would be perfect for you. We thought we could double date.'

'No, thanks.' His mouth quirks into a wry grin.

'You're really turning down a date with a super cute guy?'

Blaine seems to think for a moment before answering. 'I'm – actually I'm interested in someone else.'

'Sam?'

'What, n-no? Of course not.' His expression gives him away though.

'Can I tell you a secret?' Blaine continues to stare at him incredulously. 'The blind date is actually Sam.'

'Yea, right.'

Ryder can feel himself getting worked up. 'I promise you, it is. Just, turn up, and if it's not him, you can totally ditch.'

'Why couldn't he ask me himself?'

'He reckons you don't like him. Apparently he can't recognise heart eyes even when they're staring him in the face.' This gets a huff of laughter.

'Fine, I'll go.' Blaine doesn't look pleased, but Ryder counts it as a win anyway.

Xxx

When Ryder gets to Jake's house, and tells him what he did, Jake doesn't seem very impressed. 'That's kind of a douche thing to do, babe, getting that involved in other people's business.' Ryder suspects that he's more pissed by the fact that they're gonna have to share their date.

Mysteriously though, when Friday arrives, Ryder has suddenly come down with the illness that Jake had. They stay in, curled up on the couch, and Ryder texts Sam five minutes after they were meant to be at the restaurant.


End file.
